This is where the concept of diminishing returns comes into play. A $90 Yong Pin Hao is several orders of magnitude better than dirtleaf $10 puerh beeng. But is a $1000 tea THAT much better than say a $100 tea? I've never had tea that expensive but I would venture to say that it's not $900 better. If you have that much money to blow I suggest you just buy a boat, motorcycle, or something else along those lines.

You actually have to shop and be a knowledgeable person as well, but yeah, there are teas better than an '02 Yongpinhao, to the point that one might say it's two or three times better. Probably more important though, is that given what I know of Yongpinhao, there are teas that are two or three times better than Yongpinhao and is cheaper. In fact, as a general rule, most everything good that is well known from 2002 is relatively expensive, and more than $100. Yongpinhao is a reasonably well known brand, so a price of $90 is more likely to suggest that there are many teas preferred to it.

Well, I'm a yong pin fanboy. So I squeal in your face and say "meh!" But you're probably right. I'd be curious if you could pm me a link to a tea that you think is both cheaper and "two to three times better" than yong pin hao :p

Granted, I've been drinking vintage Yong Pin Hao since I a wee little school boy so my taste buds might be difficult to sway. Ah, to work long hours at the farming coop just to come home and blow a whole paycheck on yong pin. Glad those days are gone.

stands a chance of being very good for the money in your case. I wasn't really impressed with the sample I had, but that was back in 2010 when I got samples of things that costs a thousand dollars now, whether it was worth it or not. I did find it to be a pleasant, but erratic between session to session tea.

Putting aside the crazy price, LBZ is a really incredible tea. I followed the changing/aging of this tea since 2007 and it is really really an amazing tea. Those who have tried it would understand its quality and class but at that price, I am not sure, yet it is still tempting....

I'm not sure that I would say that LBZ is incredible. Most LBZ I've had are rather flash in the pan. My favorite is one that many people don't appreciate.

I would be more comfortable saying that the best gushu from the better places are incredible. I think it takes time and experience to understand what makes a tea a great experience. The ultra high prices for anything better than decent isn't a good thing for this hobby.

Teaism wrote:Putting aside the crazy price, LBZ is a really incredible tea. I followed the changing/aging of this tea since 2007 and it is really really an amazing tea. Those who have tried it would understand its quality and class but at that price, I am not sure, yet it is still tempting....

If you find something you really enjoy, go for it as YOLO. After all you are the only one drink it. And everyone taste is different, I can't stand Jingmai but a lot of people love it. There is no right or wrong in one's taste. Just think having a nice tea every now and then is like going out for a nice meal which costs you say $30. But a $30 worth of LBZ session could last you almost a whole day. The only problem I could see is you have to buy a whole cake or brick in one go which is a bit daunting.

stands a chance of being very good for the money in your case. I wasn't really impressed with the sample I had, but that was back in 2010 when I got samples of things that costs a thousand dollars now, whether it was worth it or not. I did find it to be a pleasant, but erratic between session to session tea.

Alright. It's bookmarked. I already blew through this week's tea budget on flashy celadon set, GABA wulong, and a 2004 Menghai shu. My friend just bought a gungfu set that's better than mine so I'm having to keep up with the Jones's. So I'll give this one a go perhaps when I scrape up some more tin. If you really want to indulge me we can organize a trade of say ~ten grams of that stuff for ten grams of some of my stuff, or I can just give you 15-20 USD for ~ten grams. PM me if you want to wheel and deal :p No anthrax please.

My tea friends in real life aren't all that enthused with Puerh though they do drink some pretty fancy oolongs. So I'm trying to branch out; find out what other people like, etc.

shah82 wrote: The ultra high prices for anything better than decent isn't a good thing for this hobby.

Well said Shah82. I think the good and best tea should be affordably available for hobbyist or at least moderately priced. When speculators come into play, the price goes up, the quality goes down and the real hobbyist like us suffer.

I was lucky to grab a few tongs of LBZ from 07-09 when it was not popularly known, otherwise I wouldn't pay for the current price. Still, it was around US$280 per piece then. The quality is excellent, old tree and early spring tea and personally handcrafted by a small tea producer. I happened to like it a lot then and willing to pay for it, which seems to be crazy at that time.

Anyway,I really miss those days when China was sleeping, when all the great stuffs are accessible without much financial consideration. Let's hope for a repeat 2007 Puer price meltdown.

Hai Lang Hao seems to have quite a few years of history so it's not the subject of my following comments.

Some new and (super) expensive brands emerging in recent a few years, I believe they are backed up by big money and aim at upper-middle-class market. They are for people who don't have time to spend shopping around and want some tea that's really tasty and strong, so that these upper-middle-class people could drink arbor tree while storing large amount of dayi for investment (they won't even break into the boxes of dayi in their storage because dayi is worth the most when the box is intact).

Ordinary people aren't in this club and don't necessarily spend that much money for some quality. By spending time understanding tea, ordinary people could find some arbor tree tea that's equally tasty (well actually probably better) and equally strong (if one prefers new tea).